Starting and lighting apparatus for motor-vehicles.



M. MOSKOWITZ. STARTING AND LIGHTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18, 1912.

Patented July 1, 1913.

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i/wwo 05 Id $944M 35131444 flick WM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MORRIS nosxowi'rz, or mom-cum, NEW JERSEY.

STARTING AND LIGHTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MORRIS Mosnowrrz, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Montclair, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting and Lighting Apparatus for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings.

This invention relates generally to starting apparatus and lighting apparatus for motor vehicles having an engine, as a gas engine, requiring an initial starting im ulse to be applied to the crank shaft, an the best form of the invention known to me is embodied in combined power driven electric apparatus for first starting the engine and thereafter furnishing current forlighting, ignition, and any other desired urposes.

My invention does away with and crank ing by providing power driven means for cranking the engine, referably electrically operated, which are e cient and economical and capable of also furnishing current when acting as a generator.

Heretofore automatic starting devices have been connected to various parts of automobile gas engines and crowded under the engine hood where there is inadequate room, the power transmission being effected through chains, gears or belting, but in addition to the lack of space under the hood,

the parts are not easily reached for inspec tion and repairs, and the construction is impractical and costly from an engineering standpoint; particularly is this true in connection with electric starting and lighting apparatus, in which'a dynamo electric machine is employed operatively connected to the engine crank shaft.

A comparatively small machine will generate suiiicient current for lighting an automobile, but such a machine is entirely inadequate for starting a gas engine, because considerable power is required to start the average automobile gas engine, especially when cold. In the apparatus heretofore used, the dynamo electric machine has been very large and heavy, and is run at high speed when acting as a motor, while the gas engine crank shaft is turned over slowly through gear reduction or other means. These large I Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 18, 1912. Serial no. 737,485.

Patented July 1, 19-13.

machines are cumbersome, too heavy for commercial use, and not well adapted for automobile use, especially in the cramped quarters in which they have been placed.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to enable the en ine to be started by means of a small and light dynamo electric machine of low power as compared with the large high powered machines heretofore .used. In fact, I have discovered means for starting the engine with the power furnished by a machine no larger than that required for ordinary lighting purposes and incapable of cranking the engine if directly connected thereto. Instead of a large number of storage battery cells to furnish the starting current, I ordinarily require no more cells than ordinarily used for lighting and ignition purposes. I thus economize on the consumption of current and reduce the necessary weight of the battery, as well as reducing the necessary weight of the dynamo electric machine.

In order to adapt a small dynamo electric machine to the heavy duty\of starting a gas engine, I bring the machine, running as a motor without load, up to speed while disconnected from the engine crank shaft, and I provide means, as for instance, a friction clutch for gradually applying the power of the motor to the engine crank shaft, thus causing the machine to crank the gas engine shaft in a natural manner, due to'the gradually developed torque of the motor. Less current is drawn from the battery than if the dynamo electric machine was started under load and ideal conditions are established for the use of a small light battery in an automobile.

Another. important consideration which develops as a result of the reduction in the size,weight, and power of the dynamo electric machine, resides in the fact that I am not limited to the confined space under the engine hood for mounting my apparatus on the vehicle, since I may mount the dynamo electric machine at the front of the vehicle, preferably outside of the radiator. The machine may readily be connected to any suitable part of the car frame at the front of the radiator, and the armature shaft may vices operated gradually connecting one shaft to the other.

conveniently be arran ed in substantial prolongation of the engine crank shaft, with suitable clutch 0 crating means or other derom the drivers seat for electric machine occupies small The dynamo front of the vehicle, adds no the car, and I avoid the serious disadvantage of subjecting the machine to the intense heat ofthe engine under the hood.

' vehicle as will serve Since the capacity of a dynamo electric machine is limited by its ability to withstand heat, Lam enabled to obtain maximum capacity with a minimum weight and size. After the machine has been utilized as a motor to start the engine, the armature remains connected to the engine crankshaft and the machine is driven as a generator for furnishing current. i

I am not to be understood as limiting the invention to a particular dynamo electric machine, or a particular clutch.

The inyention is illustrated in one of its preferred forms in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation, partly broken away, of so much of a motor to illustrate the invention; Fig. 2 is a front endtelevation of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of suitable circuits and connections for the starting and lighting apparatus; Fig. t is a'diagrammatic side elevation similar to Fig. 1, showing .a modification of the invention, and Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of Fig. 4 on the line 5-5 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a portion of the body of the motor vehicle, B the drivers seat, C the side frames or reaches, preferably in the form of channels, D the engine hood, and E the radiator at the, front of the car. One of the front wheels is indicated diagrammatically at F, and G indicates the position of the front axle. The storage battery cells H are conveniently mounted. on the running board J as usual and the crank shaft is indicated at K with the parts of the car, which would otherwise hide the crank shaft from view, removed for simplicity and clearness of illustration.

A light and small dynamo electric machine L is suitably mounted at the front of ht to the vehicle, and is the vehicle outside of the radiator E and suspended from any suitable part of the car, as by means of the brackets or arms 0 which may be conveniently connected to the channels C as by means of the bolts P.

The armature shaft Q, is preferably separate and independent from the crank shaft K and may be conveniently arranged substantially-in alinement or prolongation ofthe crank shaft. A short coupling piece R forming a portion of the crank shaft is preferably provided coupled to themain shaft K as by means of an Oldham coupling S, comprising in this instance a female member or socket T on the main shaft K and a male member U on the coupling member R, affording a certain amount of play between the parts. Any other suitable coupling may be provided at this point.

' Suitable means are'provided for gradually applying the power of the dynamo electric machine to the crank shaft, in this instance a clutch being shown comprising the female clutch member V connected to the armature shaft Q and the male clutch mem-- ber W connected to rotate with the coupling member R, but slidable thereon. In order to actuate the clutch member W longitudinally, the hub of said member may be provided with the circumferentially grooved portion X between which and a stop or collar Y on the coupling member R is provided a compression spring Z normally tending to force the clutch member against the clutch member V. Any suitable means may be provided for operating the clutch member W from the drivers seat, one suitable device being shown comprising a rod a pivoted to a bracket 12 and suitably engaging the grooved portion X of the hub of the clutch member W, so that-the hub may rotate relatively to the rod a. A lon-.

driver, so that by pressing upon the operating end 7 of the lever d, the clutch member W will be retracted from the clutch member V.

A cap 9 may be provided at the outer end of the armature shaft Q into which the end it of the armature shaft extends, so that a hand crank may engine over slowly by hand, as for instance, for timing purposes.

In cranking the engine improved apparatus, a starting switch j may be conveniently provided on the dash-board is and suitable circuits and connections are provided for supplying current from the battery H to the dynamo electric machine L for operating the machine as a motor.

by means of my be used for turning the The driver first disconnects the clutch members V and W by means of the foot lever f and then throws the switch and brings the dynamo electric machine up to speed as a motor disconnected from the crank shaft of the engine and without load. After the machine has been speeded up as a motor, pressure on the foot lever is gradually relaxed and the clutch members V and W are allowed to gradually engage, thereby permitting the dynamo electric machine operating as a motor to crank the engine. The dynamo electric machine which would otherwise have inadequate power for starting the engine if directly connected to the crank shaft, is enabled to do the required work of turning over the engine as the power is gradually applied to the crank shaft. The circuits and connections. are such and the dynamo electric machine is of such character, that after the engine is started, the clutch members V and W may remain in engage cut and the machine will be operated as a generator furnishing current for useful purposes.

In Fig. 3 a diagrammatic view is shown of suitable circuits and connections, in which 0 represents the armature of the dynamo electric machine L having the brushes p and g. j represents the starting switch adapted to be placed on the dash-board as stated and H represents the storage battery cells. A lighting circuit 1" having the lampss or other translating devices, is provided with the switch 25 and connected to the battery terminals. The main armature circuit at indicated in heavy lines is connected to charge the battery H and the switch j is interposed in this main circuit. An automatic switch '0 comprises the coils w and 00 connected across the armature and adapted to actuate the core y having the switch member 2 cooperating with the contacts'2 and 3 connected respectively to the main circuit at and to the circuit of the coils w and 00,- so that when the switch member 2 bridges the contacts 2 and 3, the armature circuit will be closed through this switch. It is to be understood that any suitable switch may be used and the dynamo electric machine L may be of any approved self-regulating type of dynamo under speed variations.

In the operation of the apparatus, by closing the manual switch j, current passes from the battery H to the'dynamo electric machine L and said'machine rotates as a motor. Working as a generator, the dynamo electric machine L will cause the automatic switch 1; to close when the voltage is high enough to overcome or charge the battery H and this automatic switch a will also open the circuit between the battery H and the generator L when the voltage falls below a predetermined point. I have merely illusspirit of the invention.

It will be seen that the objects of the in vention, as stated in the opening paragraphs of this specification, are carried. out by means of the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, but obviously diiferent mechanical constructions and arrangements of parts may be devised without d'eparting from the In some instances, it may be desirable to provide automatic means for gradually con-.

necting the dynamo electric machine to the engine shaft, and in Figs. 4 and 5, I have shown such a modification. Any suitable form of automatic clutch maybe interposed between the dynamo electric-machine and the engine'shaft, for instance, the armature shaft Q may be provided with a disk 5 carrying centrifugal clutch members Gadapted to cooperate with the female clutch member 7 on the main crank shaft 8. The centrifugal clutch members 6 are shown in the form of arms pivoted at 9 to the disk 5, and normally retracted by springs 10. The outer ends of the members 6 are provided with shoes 12 having friction surfaces adapted to friction-' ally engage the female member 7 when the members 6 are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, and thus gradually connect the dynamo electric machine to the engine shaft.

I claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent the following:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination wit-ha combustion engine requiring an initial starting-impulse to be applied to the crankshaft, of a motor generator .of such relatively small size and low power as to be incapable, when acting as a motor, of directly cranking the engine, a storage battery in circuit with said motor generator, and a friction clutch having one element thereof on the shaft of the motor generator and the other element on the engine crankshaft, whereby the power of said motor generator can be gradually applied to the crankshaft during starting, and the speed of said motor generator can be substantially the same as that of thecrankshaft when the motor generator, is thereafter driven by the engine as a generator to charge the batteries.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a combustion engine requiring an initial starting-impulse to be applied to the crankshaft, of a motor generator mounted in front of the engine wholly outside of the radiator and of such relatively small size and low power as to be incapable, when acting as a motor, of directly cranking the engine, a storage battery in circuit with said motor generator motor generator, and a friction clutch having one element thereof on the shaft'of the and the other element on the envine crankshaft, whereby the power of sai motor generator can .be gradually applied to the crankshaft during starting, and thespeed of said motor generator can be substantially the same as that of the crankshaft when the motor generator is thereafter driven by the engine as agen- 10 erator to charge the batteries.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MORRIS MOSKOWITZ. W'itnesses HERBERT G. OGDEN, HENRY SHELDON. 

